Man to Man: A Support System for Men (part 2)

1…78101213…17

Replies

  • whyflysouth
    whyflysouth Posts: 308 Member
    Weight check-in:

    5/21: 153
    5/28: ??? - was sick
    6/04: 152
    6/11: 151
    6/18: 147.7 - GOAL REACHED
    - 6/21: 147
    6/25: 149, +2 lb gain

    So I gained 2 lbs since Monday. It's probably water, I've been lifting heavy this week and I've stopped doing cardio during the week, only doing cardio during the weekends. It's weird to be tracking by weight at this point b/c the goal is to build more muscle at this point. I'm eating more larger meals, but keeping to the healthy stuff, chicken breast, brown rice, green beans, skim milk & protein shakes... Actually, it's kinda hard to ensure I'm getting muscle mass gains vs fat gains, I guess it's gonna be the mirror - maybe I should start taking weekly pictures, measure biceps, back, shoulders, etc and strength by how much I can lift.
  • summersmi
    summersmi Posts: 50 Member
    Hey I checked out the 300 workout thing and then went to the actual site for the gym the cast worked out in. On the gym's page it says that what mens health put up is not the actual workout but a test goal for the cast and crew. Meaning they used a variety of different workouts to be able to get to the point they could pass the 300 challenge. Here is the link so you can read for yourself. Look at the pictures also they are great. http://www.gymjones.com/knowledge.php?id=35
  • daved71
    daved71 Posts: 65 Member
    Check in Time. After a week of not eating very well but getting my exercise in, I was surprised to see that I have only gained a 1/2 pound. I came in at 175.5 this week. I am hoping to lose another 2 this week but I haed out camping on Wednesday and get back on Sunday, so it will be tough. I will post my final results on the 5th.
  • ccgisme
    ccgisme Posts: 239 Member
    I've been thinking about the 300 workout and my own goals. It'd be awesome to be as ripped as the guys in 300, but I think I have to build a base before I can be a bad *kitten* :bigsmile: Thanks, Summersmi for the link to gymjones (can't believe someone picked that name, hope they don't serve Koolaid...)

    I don't want to build muscle - I am 5'10" with have a 46 inch chest as it is (started at 50...looks like someone needs to have his suits altered...) my thighs are 26" and my waist is 40.5", I'm pretty balanced. I just need to get the jiggly parts to stop jiggling... and lose the man boobs :wink: don't pretend you don't know what I'm talking about. :laugh:

    So the idea of functional exercise that engages multiple muscle groups, builds endurance, and shreds fat is perfect for me. I'm looking at this workout http://www.acefitness.org/workouts/13/#program as it is body weight focused and seems like it would compliment running and martial arts nicely. It looks like a really good core workout which is an area I've always felt weak. Incorporating this for eight weeks or so should help get me closer to the possibility of the 300 challenge.

    Does anyone here have experience with plyometrics? I want to incorporate that as well explosive strength is a good thing to have for martial arts, football, anything!
  • Umpire57
    Umpire57 Posts: 389 Member
    Morning Weigh in on my 39th Birthday 6/28/2010: 229.4
    Gain of 2.6 from last week but still over 100 from my 38th birthday which was my original "Big Goal"

    I have decided to stay with my normal cardio workout on M/W/F and on Tu/Th/S cut it in half and start trying to complete 300. I am going to start tomorrow with the "Alternate Plan" and go from there.

    Thanks for all the support guys.
  • CasperO
    CasperO Posts: 2,913 Member
    Great job Ump, you've lost a middle schooler. I had a student in my motorcycle class this weekend that probably weighs less than what you've dropped. Kewl.

    Late checkin on the 7/4 challenge. My goals were to get the last few pounds off to make the weight goal and to get a little more off of my waist. Well,,, I'll prob make the pounds but the waist ain't budging. I don't know if I can get there, I'm stretching the tape over hipbones. (and that's pretty kewl,,, :smile: ).

    So:

    SW - 204
    Goal - 200 flat
    CW 6/28 - 201

    Starting waist - 34"
    Goal - 32"
    Current,,, still 34", dangit.

    Labor on gentlemen, endeavor to persevere. I had a student in moto class this weekend who's a gymrat at 6% bodyfat and I saw what REAL abs look like. I'm kind'a recharged by that, and I don't teach for the next 5 weekends so I have more time. I'm gonna work on it. :smile:
  • ccgisme
    ccgisme Posts: 239 Member
    Hey guys, I have good news to report! I got up this morning and decided to try on a pair of size 40 pants that I've been using as a test of how much weight I have lost. This morning, they fit. :bigsmile: Being a skeptic, I tried on three other pairs - they all fit. Sooo I decided to take 15 minutes to move the 44's out of my closet and into the spare bedroom and to move the size 40's into the bedroom. It feels good to have them in the closet.

    Suppose this means I should buy a pair of sze 36's to keep testing myself :wink:
  • dinos
    dinos Posts: 1,390 Member

    Labor on gentlemen, endeavor to persevere. I had a student in moto class this weekend who's a gymrat at 6% bodyfat and I saw what REAL abs look like. I'm kind'a recharged by that, and I don't teach for the next 5 weekends so I have more time. I'm gonna work on it. :smile:

    This morning I ran into Sophocles, an old friend of mine. (Not the ancient dramatist, I'm not that old. :tongue: )
    At age fifty he is competing in body building championships, has under 5% body fat and his abs are freaking scary. He looks like Conan the barbarian. Very impressive. Comparing this to my 23% BF, I look like a blob.

    I gave it some thought. Frankly, I don't really care for this extreme figure and I don't want to spend the rest of my life in the gym, eating grasshoppers and anabolics. What for? Even women are not attracted to this kind of herculean body. Right now I'd be very happy to work myself below 17% BF and tone my abs and upper body. :smokin:

    Chris, better buy yourself a measuring tape.
  • Robs_Journey
    Robs_Journey Posts: 6
    Morning Weigh in on my 39th Birthday 6/28/2010: 229.4
    Gain of 2.6 from last week but still over 100 from my 38th birthday which was my original "Big Goal"

    I have decided to stay with my normal cardio workout on M/W/F and on Tu/Th/S cut it in half and start trying to complete 300. I am going to start tomorrow with the "Alternate Plan" and go from there.

    Thanks for all the support guys.

    Nice job Ump!! I hope to have the same results with the challenge I am starting. My weigh in on my 42 birthday (6/27/2010) was 254. It was also the first day of my personal 365 day challenge to change MY lifestlye.
  • CasperO
    CasperO Posts: 2,913 Member
    I gave it some thought. Frankly, I don't really care for this extreme figure and I don't want to spend the rest of my life in the gym, eating grasshoppers and anabolics. What for? Even women are not attracted to this kind of herculean body. Right now I'd be very happy to work myself below 17% BF and tone my abs and upper body. :smokin:
    A year ago I might have said the same - You might rethink that when you get there,,, we'll see. I'm around 13%-ish, and 80% satisfied, but I want to cut a little more.
  • prez_beck
    prez_beck Posts: 30
    Wow..how did you lose so much weight in that period of time? Im down 60 lbs since March 17th..but It seems that I have hit a wall... I still work out and still eat about 1400 calories a day..but the weight doesnt seem to be moving. I am learning to stay away from the scale as much..but I need tips for work outs...


    any help would be great.
  • CasperO
    CasperO Posts: 2,913 Member
    I started out in Jan '09 and lost 50 pounds in the first 6 months. That got me into pretty decent shape, prob about where D is talking about at 17% or so. Like you, I knocked off a lot of weight pretty quick.

    Also like you - once I got to a certain point it quit working. I quit losing. I also started getting listless, not having a lot of energy, not feeling so good. I was dieting hard, exercising a little and not getting anywhere. Very frustrating. Sound familiar?

    I tried lots'a stuff, but what finally got me moving again was - - - eating more. Yep,,, I redid my setup to 1 pound a week - 500 cal a day deficit. This bumped me up to about 2000 cals a day, and that's what I'm eating now, and it has worked. I cheat a little and I eat most of my ex calories so I'm really losing more like 1/2 pound a week,,, but it's great and I feel fantastic. The feeling good part mean energy which means exercise which just makes it all better. I took my resting pulse yesterday and it was 50... :smile:

    That's what did it for me, goodl uck to you. My $.o2, YMMV.
  • Umpire57
    Umpire57 Posts: 389 Member
    Once again CasperO, You are the godfather of MFP!

    I have been feeling lethargic lately and uninspired. I was still working out every day and keeping to my numbers but I was sort of blah.

    I have been thinking about it a lot and decided that I was going to try the Alternate 300 on Tuesday.

    Monday night, I get NAILED in the knee w/ a softball that the catcher just missed and never touched so yesterday morning I skipped my workout entirely "because my knee was killing me" (That is what I told myself anyway). I was still feeling kinda down from not working out and came here and saw your last post. I also read Bank's post about too high expectations and I had an epiphany.

    I re-calculated my goals for 1 pound a week instead of 2, got back into the gym this morning and did my standard cardio workout and scoped out the best place in the gym to start the alternate 300 tomorrow and I got an extra 500 calories to boot! :)

    This morning I feel better than I have in weeks. Sometimes it is the little changes that make the most difference.

    Thanks Guys!
  • CasperO
    CasperO Posts: 2,913 Member
    Good for you, glad you're on track.

    My weight loss progress is now basically glacial, almost nothing. I pudged back up to 212 at the holidays and I've gotten that back off, and I'm still a couple of pounds above 'goal'. But ya' know what? I don't care. That's not really important to me. I'm working for abs and stamina and ability now.

    The good news is that with my current intake level, I'm not really struggling. I'm rarely hungry, I don't really need or want to eat more. This really is something I can do on a long term basis. I think that's really important. I've yoyo'ed once before, lost 40ish pounds back around 2002 and put 'em back on over the next couple years,,, but I don't think that'll happen this time.

    Hope you're there too Ump, working at a level you can sustain. It's pretty cool.

    Good luck with the knee.
  • prez_beck
    prez_beck Posts: 30
    Thanks CasperO - Thats EXACTLY how I have been feeling... so tired, no energy..I still work out 5 days a week..but nothing is happening. I actually got on the scale this morning and was 4 lbs heavier.... I figured maybe its because of the weight training I did the night before.. Dont know... But maybe I should up my calories from 1400 to 1800 to see if there will be a difference.
  • KS1980
    KS1980 Posts: 40
    Lot's of good ideas and stories on here. This is the first time I seen this thread and great to see I am not the only male on the site trying to lose weight.
  • CasperO
    CasperO Posts: 2,913 Member
    Tired, no energy. You're undernourished, your body thinks you've moved to Ethiopia and it's suppressing processes and holding onto every calorie it gets hold of and trying to survive this 'famine'. The dreaded "starvation mode".

    You can do those crazy 1000 cal a day deficits when you're carrying 100 big macs with you, I did it for a long time and it worked. But once get so you can raise your arms and count ribs your bod'll get a lot less cocky. :happy:

    Now the fun starts, enjoy.
  • whyflysouth
    whyflysouth Posts: 308 Member
    No energy... feeling that way this morning too, even with me upping my calories. But the food I've been eating has been fish, chicken breast, spinach, and broccoli, so I think it's a result of too few carbs. So far I've had a bowl of wheaties, a mars bar mini snack size, two handfulls of the kids honey nut cheerios mixed with some chicken breast.... I'm feeling a little better.

    Honey nut cheerios and chicken breast tastes pretty good together.
  • dinos
    dinos Posts: 1,390 Member

    Honey nut cheerios and chicken breast tastes pretty good together.

    i was going go say that You must be very hungry to eat this, but I remembered that I was in turkey some time ago and they offered me a sweet, it's name is Kazan dibi which translates into " bottom of the kettle" it's made of chicken breasts and caramel, has a texture like pudding and it's Fu$&;@/ng delicious
  • CasperO
    CasperO Posts: 2,913 Member
    Oh yeah, I remember turkish food. Wow,,, just wow. They blend stuff that just don't sound right and make it work. They also can do anything with mutton. Good stuff, I'd like to go back.
  • ccgisme
    ccgisme Posts: 239 Member
    I only have 21 calories left for the day. Stop talking about Turkish food! :wink: Turksih cotton candy is awesome. A student brought me some one time and it was not the super sweet stuff we're used to in the States - it had pistachios in it...
  • dinos
    dinos Posts: 1,390 Member
    I gave it some thought. Right now I'd be very happy to work myself below 17% BF and tone my abs and upper body. :smokin:
    A year ago I might have said the same - You might rethink that when you get there,,, we'll see. I'm around 13%-ish, and 80% satisfied, but I want to cut a little more.

    Yes, I agree with you Casper. I'm also a goal-driven person and always realign my goals along the way. I joined mfp just to lose some weight, then started walking, riding a bike, hiking, doing the situp/pushup challenge, raised my monthly mileage from 20K to 250K, started the C25K, learned about calipers-bf calculators-blogging-social networking etc, I'm contemplating the idea of a sprint triathlon, want ripped abs, want to play the guitar, want to seize the day .....
    And talking about seizing the day, one of these days I'm taking the family to a turkish restaurant. :bigsmile:
  • Robs_Journey
    Robs_Journey Posts: 6
    I started out in Jan '09 and lost 50 pounds in the first 6 months. That got me into pretty decent shape, prob about where D is talking about at 17% or so. Like you, I knocked off a lot of weight pretty quick.

    Also like you - once I got to a certain point it quit working. I quit losing. I also started getting listless, not having a lot of energy, not feeling so good. I was dieting hard, exercising a little and not getting anywhere. Very frustrating. Sound familiar?

    I tried lots'a stuff, but what finally got me moving again was - - - eating more. Yep,,, I redid my setup to 1 pound a week - 500 cal a day deficit. This bumped me up to about 2000 cals a day, and that's what I'm eating now, and it has worked. I cheat a little and I eat most of my ex calories so I'm really losing more like 1/2 pound a week,,, but it's great and I feel fantastic. The feeling good part mean energy which means exercise which just makes it all better. I took my resting pulse yesterday and it was 50... :smile:

    That's what did it for me, goodl uck to you. My $.o2, YMMV.

    I am with you Casper. If I don't eat enough I don't lose weight, If I eat too much, I don't lose weight. My magic number is somewherre between 1800 and 2100 calories. If I stay there I have great workouts and plenty of energy throughout the day.

    Rob
  • ccgisme
    ccgisme Posts: 239 Member
    Check in time!

    Height 5'10"
    SW May 21, 255.4
    May 28 - 253.8.
    June 4 - 251.0
    June 11 - ???
    June 18 - 251.2
    June 25 - 249.8
    July 2, - 246.4 :glasses:

    Goal: 245

    I'm very happy with this. I don't expect to drop 1.4 lbs by Sunday, but I'm fine with coming this close to my mark. I'm still on schedule to get to 240 by August, which is one of my personal goals.

    Hit a wall with C25K, but I dusted myself off and got back on the horse last night. I will finish it, it's just going to take me longer.

    Hope you all had great weeks! :bigsmile:
  • dinos
    dinos Posts: 1,390 Member
    Checking in:

    Height 6'3"
    SW May 21, 255.0
    May 28 - 253.5
    June 4 - 251.5
    June 11 - 252
    June 18 - 249.8
    June 25 - 248.7
    July 2 - 249.

    Missed my Weight Goal of 245, as I hit a plateau the last 15 days:sad:.
    On the positive side I lost about an inch round the waist :bigsmile: and reached my revised walk/bike/hike target of 200 miles. It took 17 hours on the bike to travel 139.0 miles + another 22 hours on foot (walking, running and hiking) to cover 62.4 miles + a supportive wife who didn't raise any sh*tstorms. Yet. :bigsmile:
  • CasperO
    CasperO Posts: 2,913 Member
    Check in - no real change. Biked to work again today. Busy busy times lately, not getting enough ex, eating a little heavy, so no progress. That's Ok.

    Looking forward to weighing in at the end of my bike ride this PM,,, :smile:
  • FORKDOWN
    FORKDOWN Posts: 1,754
    Time to eat crow. I have created so many challenges on MFP and fall short everytime.

    SW 253.8
    7/2 254.4

    Good job everyone and thanks for particpating. One small victory today, I was dragging *kitten* this morning but forced myself to weightlift. I swear the barbell felt empty this morning, gaining some strength anyway.

    Have a safe 4th.
  • whyflysouth
    whyflysouth Posts: 308 Member
    I think I put way back when we started this challenge that I'd have ran a 10k by now... hmm... time to find a 10k to run this weekend, lol. Haven't prepared for one, but eh, i sort of just like to fall into things last minute.
  • CasperO
    CasperO Posts: 2,913 Member
    10 Kilometers = 6.2137 miles. Just go run it man, and let us know how you do. I can bike that in about 23 minutes :-)
  • whyflysouth
    whyflysouth Posts: 308 Member
    Man! Good motivation casper, sounds easy... i found a 10k race that's on the 4th for $30 so I'm gonna register for it.
This discussion has been closed.

Categories